From Social Servitude to Self - Certitude
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FROM SOCIAL SERVITUDE TO SELF - CERTITUDE: THE SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF RESISTANCE OF RACIALIZED DIASPORIC WOMEN Negar Pour Ebrahim Alamdar A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO July 2018 ©Negar Pour Ebrahim Alamdar, 2018 ABSTRACT The relationship between migration incorporation and resistance is a quintessential problematic replete with controversy. As Arabs and Iranians migrate to a Western society, they are confronted by a whole new set of choices and experiences making the adaptation process intricate and challenging (Pedraza, 2000). Notwithstanding the voluminous literature on collective or community mobilization, relatively little scholarship, conceptually and substantively, exists that analyzes the individual self-empowerment of racialized diasporic women. This research seeks to bridge this gap by addressing the efficacy of the exigent need for critical analysis of the stages and processes of individual resistance. My study analyzes the different levels of accommodation / resistance racialized diasporic women especially from Iran use to negotiate various institutions of socializing control. Distance and engagement in terms of deference and defiance are constructed relationally to form the basis or “precondition of a politically engaged critique” (Bannerji, 1991). Informed by the confluence of anti-racist feminist, post- colonial, critical race theories and interpretive sociology, this dissertation argues that any analysis of the relationship of identity (consciousness) and culture (ideology) warrants a far more comprehensive inquiry into the mediating role of institutions of law, work, family, education and religion especially in reference to racialized diasporic women. This study of self-empowerment is theoretically informed by Fanon’s (2008:14) mimicry (Hawley, 2001), Bhabha’s (1994) “hybridity”, Foucault’s (1990) docile bodies, Gramsci’s (1971) naturalized common sense, Bannerji’s (1995) relational/reflexive method and Hooks’s (1992) forms of representation. From a Weberian social action perspective (Gerth & Mills, 1946), the concept of “movement” provides a meaningfully compelling typology. Resistance, as a movement of the self, is socially organized according to ii clearly discrete stages and identifiable contingencies. Identity, institutions and ideologies impact on this movement, a movement from an imposed and internalized marginality towards a more empowered self- consciousness. Resistance, as disconnecting from oppressive life chances to reconnecting to more authentic self-awareness, is further contextualized in terms of responses to pernicious accommodations to conformity (getting and staying connected to the dominant Western culture). Methodologically, this study employs content analyses, a deep reading of post- colonial, anti- racist feminist and critical interpretive thought and a critical auto-ethnography. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Firstly, I would like to express my sincere appreciation to all those who contributed to this work. I hope that I have been able to capture the spirit and intent of what was shared with me during our discussions, chats and interviews. Secondly, I would like to state that in all stages of this study, the guidance and support from the Happiness Support Group (Reihaneh, Maryam, Sanaz, Sherry, Zohreh, Leila, Dr. Shirin, Samira, Yousef, Nima, Mahmoud, Alireza, Amir and Shahin) was extraordinary. The contributions of baba Allaeddin and his lovely wife Mitra, who are like my real family members, My very close friends Aggie, Debbie, Jimmy, Beata, Amghad, Leena who have always been so supportive. My English teacher Sam Shalizar and his kind wife Noushin and their support and encouragement were more than I ever could have expected and I now realize it would have been impossible for me to conduct meaningful research without everyone’s support. In retrospect, I realize that I was presumptuous to think that I could begin a research project, which investigated the experiences of racialized women, without this talented group of friends. My committee was incredibly supportive and allowed me to explore these ideas without interference. This project is partly a product of their teaching and mentorship. A special note of gratitude is extended to my supervisor, Professor Visano. He has always made me feel comfortable with what I did not know, rather than feeling anxiety about it. His teaching and counsel continue to impact on so many York University students. I hope that I too can have such a positive impact upon students in the future. Professor Goulding was and is always generous in sharing his time and thoughts. He was able to break down complex ideas with ease. He contributed enormously to this study’s pedagogy of interpretive enlightenment. Professor Foster’s relentless advocacy and inspiring ability to make brilliant connections between practice iv and theory have been so instrumental to this work. The links he is able to make and how he brings critique beyond the text into an embodied teaching approach is inspiring – he challenged me to think more about how I related to the disenfranchised communities. The references and reading material they all provided were extremely challenging and helpful. My Committee helped to provide a more compelling, cogent and consistent set of foci that facilitated the development of a more comprehensive and integrated conceptual / theoretical orientation of my central arguments. To other members of the PhD Examining Committee, Professor D. Baker, Professor L. Lam and Professor A. Ouedraogo, thank you for agreeing to serve as External Representative, Dean’s Representative, and Internal Representative, respectively. My many university professors, especially Terry, Gamal, Rina, Guida, Paul, and Carmela, facilitated my learning journey. They all worked patiently as I asked questions, sought direction, and struggled to understand. Having said this, there is one thing I do know. Admittedly, as they all admonished, when decisions are being made that impact on the lives of racialized diasporic women, the voices of these silenced women must be included and heard. Sincere gratitude to colleagues in Social and Political Thought, the Department of Equity Studies (Minoo, Jim, Merle and Mavis) and Humber College (Rai, Soheila and Tonia) for grounding me and for often patiently listening to my anxiety filled ramblings while also never letting me fall too far into self- deprecation. Thank you! This project is also indebted to them for pushing me beyond the present in order to challenge the epistemological vectors of my thought. Judith Hawley’s timely assistance and resourcefulness have done much to encourage me to keep writing than she will ever know. I am especially grateful for her many years of assistance and support. I would also like to thank: Dr Ezat Mossallanejad for his unwavering commitment to supporting refugees, Dr Morteza Zohrabi for being so positive, encouraging and his support v towards immigrants in their job search and success in general; and a special thank you to Dr Nastaran Adibrad for her invaluable and patient counsel and her insistence to push me to stay well and focussed during this journey. Their work has had a profound impact on this project. I continue to benefit from their insights and forthright responses to all my questions. My late grandmother remains the greatest inspiration to this work. Her critical defiance as a feminist has always been a moving force for me. I am truly blessed to be raised by such a brilliant woman and someone with a deep sense of compassion. She has taught me the value of trying to struggle to uphold the right principal regardless if it does not benefit me or if others do not acknowledge it. Her everyday actions as a physician, let alone the history that I have gathered from her stories, have taught me the value of conviction and patience. Her guiding spirit has helped me complete this dissertation. Sincere gratitude is extended thanks to my parents, Mojdeh and Ahmad, for always having confidence in me and for pushing me towards different directions of thought. Their support and patience during this long journey sustained my studies. It was largely because of their encouragement, and perhaps a little nagging, that this large task has finally been completed. They have been models of determination to emulate. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract i-iii Acknowledgements iv-vi Table of Contents vii-xi CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION: CONCEPTUAL CONTOURS A. DILEMMAS OF THE DIASPORA: THE CONTEXTS OF CONTESTS 1 B. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK 11 Movements: Stages and Contingencies 14 C. CHAPTER OUTLINE 20 D. CONCLUSIONS 24 CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY AND METHODS OF RESISTANCE A. METHODOLOGY: THE INTERPRETIVE PERSPECTIVES 25 Hermeneutics 25 B. METHODS 28 i) Content Analysis 28 ii) Critical auto ethnography: a retrospective accounting and observations 28 C. CONCEPTUAL BASES OF CONTEMPORARY ETHNOGRAPHIES, CRITICAL ETHNOGRAPHIES AND CRITICAL AUTO ETHNOGRAPHY 33 i) The Critical Ethnography 37 ii) Researching the Researcher 39 iii) Critical auto ethnography 42 iv) Gender Lessons 44 D. CONCLUSIONS: LOST AND FOUND IN TRANSLATIONS 48 i) Host Language 48 ii) Home Language 49 vii CHAPTER THREE “GETTING CONNECTED”: IDENTIFYING AN IDENTITY A. INTRODUCTION: IDENTITY AND BEING IN CONTEXT 52 i) Identity as the Dialectics of Movements 53 ii) Identity: Conscience and Self 54 a) Friedrich Nietzsche